State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) released its annual updated “Proxy Voting and Engagement Guidelines for North America” (US & Canada) and other regions, which are designed to work in tandem with its updated “Global Proxy Voting and Engagement Principles.” Its updated “Global Proxy Voting and Engagement Guidelines for Environmental and Social Issues” provides additional color on SSGA’s approach to engagement and voting (typically via shareholder proposals) on sustainability issues.Significant proxy voting principle changes for the US for 2022 highlighted in SSGA’s Summary of Material Changes cover climate-related disclosures, board diversity, workforce diversity disclosure, director accountability for the company’s ESG performance as gauged by its proprietary R-Factor™ scoring system, and director overboarding.See also SSGA’s updated “Frameworks for Voting Environmental and Social Shareholder Proposals” and “Issuer Engagement Protocol.”
See our recent reports: “State Street Articulates Virtual Meeting Expectations” and “State Street Refreshes Portfolio Company Expectations & Guidance” and additional information & resources on our Institutional Investors page »State Street. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!